- Thread starter
- #1
PuckinUgly57
Don't be a jabroni.
- 4,897
- 946
- 113
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2011
- Location
- Yorba Linda, CA
- Hoopla Cash
- $ 1,000.00
- Fav. Team #1
- Fav. Team #2
- Fav. Team #3
Figured I'd start a thread for this, all things Kings or otherwise, tidbits, etc.
ESPN has goalie tandem rankings, you have to have ESPN+ to access it so if you have that to watch games just log in and you'll be able to see the whole article:
www.espn.com
Regarding the Kings, they rank below average at 19th:
Darcy Kuemper, David Rittich
Kuemper is GM Rob Blake's latest attempt to stabilize his goaltending in the post-Jonathan Quick era.
"If you get the Darcy of every other year in his career other than last year, they'll be fine," one goalie analyst said.
Kuemper's only season with the Capitals was a disaster, as he posted the lowest save percentage of his career (.890) and a terrible minus-15.6 goals saved above expected. He lost his gig to Charlie Lindgren, and the Kings acquired him in a "problem for problem" swap for center Pierre Luc-Dubois.
"In theory, the Kings' defensive environment is always going to make their goaltending look good," one goaltending analyst said.
Rittich was the Kings' best goaltender last season, with 8.8 goals saved above expected and a sterling .921 save percentage in 24 games. He's earned the backup role in the NHL, with Pheonix Copley relegated to the AHL to start the season.
Perhaps Kuemper is the answer. Or perhaps it's like how one goalie analyst put it: "The Pacific Division looks like where good goaltending goes to die."
Nothing we didn't really expect, first four games are showing it too although the Kings defense isn't helping at all.
Number one is the Rangers including a familiar face:
Igor Shesterkin, Jonathan Quick
Our panel of experts agreed that the Rangers deserved the top spot in the goalie tandem ranking, now that the Bruins broke up the band.
Shesterkin is well-established as one of the top goaltenders in the NHL, even if he hasn't hit the heights of his Vezina-winning 2021-22 campaign again. He had a .912 save percentage last season in 55 games, although he had only 3.46 goals saved above expected. He's going to break the bank on his next contract for a reason: Few netminders in the NHL are even in the conversation with Shesterkin as far as ability to take over a game.
But the reason this tandem could be considered the NHL's best has to do with the 27 games Shesterkin didn't play. Quick, 38, was 18-6-2 last season for the Rangers, reviving his career after it looked like it might have reached its end with the Kings and Golden Knights in 2022-23. (Quick did win a third Stanley Cup ring with the Knights as a backup goalie.)
Quick's underlying numbers were better than Shesterkin's in some cases last season.
"If Jonathan Quick plays like he did last season, they absolutely deserve to be here," an NHL goalie analyst said.
That's a significant if given Quick's age and mileage, but the NHL should know better than to count him out by now.
ESPN has goalie tandem rankings, you have to have ESPN+ to access it so if you have that to watch games just log in and you'll be able to see the whole article:
NHL goalie tandem rankings: Why the Rangers reign supreme
With a new season underway, here's how a panel of coaches, analytics gurus and former players ranks all 32 teams' netminder depth.
Regarding the Kings, they rank below average at 19th:
19. Los Angeles Kings
Darcy Kuemper, David Rittich
Kuemper is GM Rob Blake's latest attempt to stabilize his goaltending in the post-Jonathan Quick era.
"If you get the Darcy of every other year in his career other than last year, they'll be fine," one goalie analyst said.
Kuemper's only season with the Capitals was a disaster, as he posted the lowest save percentage of his career (.890) and a terrible minus-15.6 goals saved above expected. He lost his gig to Charlie Lindgren, and the Kings acquired him in a "problem for problem" swap for center Pierre Luc-Dubois.
"In theory, the Kings' defensive environment is always going to make their goaltending look good," one goaltending analyst said.
Rittich was the Kings' best goaltender last season, with 8.8 goals saved above expected and a sterling .921 save percentage in 24 games. He's earned the backup role in the NHL, with Pheonix Copley relegated to the AHL to start the season.
Perhaps Kuemper is the answer. Or perhaps it's like how one goalie analyst put it: "The Pacific Division looks like where good goaltending goes to die."
Nothing we didn't really expect, first four games are showing it too although the Kings defense isn't helping at all.
Number one is the Rangers including a familiar face:
1. New York Rangers
Igor Shesterkin, Jonathan Quick
Our panel of experts agreed that the Rangers deserved the top spot in the goalie tandem ranking, now that the Bruins broke up the band.
Shesterkin is well-established as one of the top goaltenders in the NHL, even if he hasn't hit the heights of his Vezina-winning 2021-22 campaign again. He had a .912 save percentage last season in 55 games, although he had only 3.46 goals saved above expected. He's going to break the bank on his next contract for a reason: Few netminders in the NHL are even in the conversation with Shesterkin as far as ability to take over a game.
But the reason this tandem could be considered the NHL's best has to do with the 27 games Shesterkin didn't play. Quick, 38, was 18-6-2 last season for the Rangers, reviving his career after it looked like it might have reached its end with the Kings and Golden Knights in 2022-23. (Quick did win a third Stanley Cup ring with the Knights as a backup goalie.)
Quick's underlying numbers were better than Shesterkin's in some cases last season.
"If Jonathan Quick plays like he did last season, they absolutely deserve to be here," an NHL goalie analyst said.
That's a significant if given Quick's age and mileage, but the NHL should know better than to count him out by now.
